Guest guy_mancuso Posted March 31, 2007 Share #1 Posted March 31, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Well it is the day before April fools day which also happens to be my 18th year of marriage ,yes I was married on April fools day , and i joke with my wife once a fool always a fool. LOL Seriously i love her dearly but i figured i would say this now so folks know i am not joking here. I made some pretty hard core decisions on my R and M system and after months of using the M8 and seeing what i have been seeing lately in firmware:D . I decided to sell the DMR and the last remaining lens the 180 F2. Now before I say anything further there is not a better image DSLR maker out there. I have proved that one more than I care to talk about. It served me from August 2005 until today and it served me extremely well with beautiful images and satisfied clients. I love it and always will but it honestly sat for 5 months as this journey with the M8 began. The M8 has not been a smooth journey as we all know and the sunden death syndrome still looms, It still makes me nervous and I was planning on getting a MF system in the next couple months and still do plan that but i was going to put some money into a little Canon for backup and a couple lense and talked to friends about it and all along i figured what the hell am i doing but just throwing good money at something i just won't use almost as bad as leaving the DMR in the safe. So I decided to completely load up the M8 system with the money i have than go forward later with MF. So I already made plans for additionl gear and by weeks end I should have,Wate,28,35,50,75,90,135 apo and the 90 macro with adapter and add a 12mm CV to the pile along with the Viso and my 2 bodies and pick up a 24mm and 50 nocti with my 30 percent off. Yes i am going overboard on lenses and that for me is pretty normal and i do USE everyone of them. But if I am going to leave the DSLR world than i need everything that it could do plus what the M8 could do. I don'tshoot sports and that is about the only thing at the point i would need a DSLR for. Macro, product , shift and some other things i have been able to do with great success with the M8. i don't use a M8 like it was orginally intended by leica. it is not just a reportage camera to me and get one lens and use it for days on end. that is not my style. I have shot many commercial jobs, wedding, portraits, landscapes , PR and everything i could throw at it and it has always performed as well as the DMR. Will I miss a long telephoto ? maybe but it is not critical . But when i do go for a MF there will be 4 lenses that i will get and one will be long. I know some of you will really think i fell off a prefectly good riding machine and jumped in a sports car with a busted shock absorber and maybe there right. But I love the M lenses and NEVER seen anything better than this glass and i really have fallen for RF shooting . I guess some are wondering why i am even starting this thread but the fact is i have enough confidence in the M8 now to move forward with even some of the last remaining warts. If i really need a DSLR for a job it is a easy 20 minute ride to rent anything i need and also to confirm that I think the M8 is all that and ready for this adventure. Wish me a good ride. Thanks Guy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted March 31, 2007 Posted March 31, 2007 Hi Guest guy_mancuso, Take a look here Final gear decision on the M8. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
roubaix Posted March 31, 2007 Share #2 Posted March 31, 2007 Guy, What a load of beautiful gear. As an amateur, I wish I could figure out a way to make my Leica purchases deductable. Despite the haul, I still bet you'd take a fast and wide (FAW or WAF?) if it were available. I sure would. Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted March 31, 2007 Share #3 Posted March 31, 2007 I would love to see some additional lenses from Leica and I always tended to go for the fastest glass there is. I do have a hole in this and that is my fastest wide is 28mm. We need a 24 1.4 or F2 and even a 21 F2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roubaix Posted March 31, 2007 Share #4 Posted March 31, 2007 Vote #2 for 24/1.4. Wonder what the Solms people have up their sleeves? Their glass is magical. Peter Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted March 31, 2007 Share #5 Posted March 31, 2007 I would be on that in a flash Peter. Price would kill us though Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
carstenw Posted March 31, 2007 Share #6 Posted March 31, 2007 Wow, I guess you feel now like I felt when I sold my 80 Lux. My favorite lens, gone. I do love this M-system though. I now understand what I never could grasp as an outsider. The system is just one notch (or more) above anything else I have seen or tried. I would still like an R10 for certain lenses, like the 100/2.8 Macro, 180/2, and so on, but I really don't feel any pressure in that direction. What will you do now for corporate portraits? Good luck, and don't be too quick load up the M system to the gills. Less can still be more. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronner Posted March 31, 2007 Share #7 Posted March 31, 2007 Advertisement (gone after registration) Guy, Best of luck with your new direction. Two months ago I bought the M8 and photography is fun again! I have picked up new lenses (WATE, 28/2.8, 50/2 ,a d CV 12mm) and a couple used lenses (35/1.4 and 75/1.4). Boy this thing is addicting. I am not happy with the used lenses and wished I waited to get them new....but I will tell you.......I could not stand dragging around a Canon SLR system with 20 pounds of lenses.........I just left it home. A quick question, and please excuse my new-ness: what is the "MF" you are waiting for? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibogost Posted March 31, 2007 Share #8 Posted March 31, 2007 Guy,A quick question, and please excuse my new-ness: what is the "MF" you are waiting for? "Medium Format" e.g. Hasselblad ("Hassy") Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ronner Posted March 31, 2007 Share #9 Posted March 31, 2007 Got it. I forgot about MF for the last couple years! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted March 31, 2007 Share #10 Posted March 31, 2007 I know it sounds a little crazy and i do like most folks look forward to see what Leica does on the R10 and it still is in vision but waiting a year or two is something that most pro's can't afford to do . We need tools on a daily basis so you really kind of have to go for the moment stuff. The tough decision is on the long end and i normally used the 180 f2 for portraits which in many folks think is very long but i like the compression that it gives also. I have used the 75 lux and that is a big change for me on these. Now I am almost right on top of someone but i will experiment with the 135 mm and i do have the 90 apo. It's easier to soften than sharpen with these so what i look for is the fall off in the OOF area's, the 180 was magic at that. There are a few downfalls here but i can work around them and nothing extremely critical so i am pretty confident i will be alright. Also I have confidence in leica to fix the existing issues and also to improve some feature sets. They don't want a flawed camera anymore than we do. I know there working hard at it and also are backed up to the healt with service issues. They will get that part under control but they need to get on that. The filters should be in folks hands and the long service times need to be turned much faster. I know they know that too and it is a hot topic. For all of us we have been very patient but we need to move forward faster also. Time is money on all ends of this and hopefully things will improve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hankg Posted March 31, 2007 Share #11 Posted March 31, 2007 I would be on that in a flash Peter. Price would kill us though Perhaps not if it was for a 1.33 crop image circle. How many would buy a $5,000USD + monster sized 24/1.4 for their film M's anyway when they have the 28/2 and 35/1.4? Don't relegate Leica's 1.33 crop users to second class citizenship over a slavish adherence to cross-platform compatibility even in instances where it doesn't make sense! I'd wait on Canon's announcement of the 1Ds MKIII before I committed to a $30,000+ MF system. A 22MP (if the rumors are true) Canon DSLR with a Leica 100 Apo-Macro and the Canon 135/2 L, the Canon TSE lenses and either Leica or Canon L 180+ telephotos would be a match for any MF kit. Good luck with your M kit. By the way have a look at the Rodenstock Rodagons for your Viso. A great range of lenses cheap by Leica standards. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Sievers Posted March 31, 2007 Share #12 Posted March 31, 2007 Well, you are way ahead of me on the lense front. I don't have a 12 and a 75. I tried to find a 75 lux today. None to be found in HK. There were piles of them last summer. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eoin Posted March 31, 2007 Share #13 Posted March 31, 2007 Brave decision Guy, I remember how impressed you were (and still are) by the DMR & 108 f2. Given the subjects you shoot & maybe required to shoot a rental can always be used where the M8 does not suite. Don't you just love those M lenses, I've been so impressed with them and the M8. BTW the Nocti is 8 weeks back ordered. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted March 31, 2007 Share #14 Posted March 31, 2007 Perhaps not if it was for a 1.33 crop image circle. How many would buy a $5,000USD + monster sized 24/1.4 for their film M's anyway when they have the 28/2 and 35/1.4? Don't relegate Leica's 1.33 crop users to second class citizenship over a slavish adherence to cross-platform compatibility even in instances where it doesn't make sense! I'd wait on Canon's announcement of the 1Ds MKIII before I committed to a $30,000+ MF system. A 22MP (if the rumors are true) Canon DSLR with a Leica 100 Apo-Macro and the Canon 135/2 L, the Canon TSE lenses and either Leica or Canon L 180+ telephotos would be a match for any MF kit. Good luck with your M kit. By the way have a look at the Rodenstock Rodagons for your Viso. A great range of lenses cheap by Leica standards. Canon needs to do more than just throw a 22mpx camera at us. They need to get a higher bit depth, get rid of that AA filter and increase there DR by a lot if they want to get into the MF specs BUT it certainly maybe worth looking at. I would like them to get rid of the CMOS chip also but that is more personal preference than anything else. i will look into those Rodenstocks Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted March 31, 2007 Share #15 Posted March 31, 2007 Brave decision Guy, I remember how impressed you were (and still are) by the DMR & 108 f2. Given the subjects you shoot & maybe required to shoot a rental can always be used where the M8 does not suite. Don't you just love those M lenses, I've been so impressed with them and the M8. BTW the Nocti is 8 weeks back ordered. Yes Carsten and i don't want to take anything away from the DMR and the R system i still love it and they perform better than any DSLR i have used in my opinion. This was NOT a easy decision to sell it and still pains me. I am very impressed by the M lenses and I hope they continue the line and and also start thinking about the next M digital. There is always room to grow both the M and the R . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shootist Posted March 31, 2007 Share #16 Posted March 31, 2007 Good luck Guy. I to have set the DSLR on the shelf for the most part. I did loan it to someone in my company to shoot some jobs we have done recently for advertising (they actually asked to borrow the M8 and of course my answer was NO) and since I am doing a new job in a high-rise I took the DSLR with me because the widest lens I have for the M is the 24 and I have a 12-24 zoom for the DSLR. What I would like from Leica is a 18mm f/2.8. I know the WATE is 16-18-21 but the f4 is the stopper for me Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guy_mancuso Posted March 31, 2007 Share #17 Posted March 31, 2007 Yes that was my decision the poor DMR just sat there and begged for work. For me if it is not getting used it has to go, just can't tie up money with collecting dust Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtmerideth Posted March 31, 2007 Share #18 Posted March 31, 2007 Well Guy, the paths you travel are both interesting and amazing. And of course your leadership is so valuable. I understand your apprehension as I also sold my DMR also and now I am marketing the lenses. As a retired traveller the M8 is a perfect solution. Take it anywhere, easily. While in Los Angeles I did an architectural study of the Walt Disney Music Hall with the CV15, 21/2.8 and the normal tri-elmar and it produced spectacular results.So we'll see what the future brings. Thanks for all that you do for the forum. It's really helpful. gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
marknorton Posted March 31, 2007 Share #19 Posted March 31, 2007 Well, if there's one person who doesn't sit on the fence waiting in indecision but follows his instinct and sticks to it, it's Guy. Kudos to you! Great decision, though I would find it difficult to dump my Nikon. I certainly agree that one area I'd like to see new lenses is faster wides, 28/1.4? Yes please. 24/2? Where do I sign? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrc Posted March 31, 2007 Share #20 Posted March 31, 2007 I would hold on to your R lenses until the new Canon comes out. It's possible that the new 1DsIII will be like the new 1D -- that is, just a quicker and more refined sports shooter, maybe with live view but with no greater dynamic range, no better wides, etc. But it's also possible that Canon has something really interesting up its sleeve, going after the MF market with better DR, wider color gamut, etc. If so, the R lenses could be worth their weight in gold. If you do look at MF, take a look at the Luminous Landscape forum, and the discussions going on there about the Mamiya ZD. Sounds like a great studio camera, and the back can be used with both RZ and 645 glass, which right now, is CHEAP. JC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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